It had been a very long time since Elsa was last here, but she still remembered every sight, every sound, as if she that life-changing moment had only happened yesterday. She remembered the dark dry trees devoid of any leaves. She remembered the dark blue stones and the mossy green that blanketed over them. She remembered the gentle hiss of the steam as it emerged from underground. But most of all she remembered how lively this place felt even when there didn't seem to be any signs of life.
Yes she was back in The Valley of the Living Rock. With a request that sounded downright impossible and improbable. But she wanted, no, needed to know if it could be done and she would never forgive herself if she didn't at least ask.
It had been a year since her coronation. That dreaded day still plagued the back of her mind and haunted her. The way Anna had walked away from her so defeated after she had basically asked for her big sister to be a part of her life again. The sting of those words, "All you know is how to shut people out." They still hurt to this day. The feel of Anna ripping her glove out of her hand and withholding it from her, wanting answers that were justified for her to want but Elsa just...couldn't tell her. And then her slip up. Her awful mistake that had caused all those series of events to happen. Her freezing Arendelle, the journey Anna had taken just to see her only for Elsa to not only shut her out once more but to freeze her heart, the battle she had to fight in which she almost killed two men, the way Anna had sacrificed her own life just to save Elsa. The memories hurt too much.
And yet, what came out of all of that? In the end she didn't have to be afraid of her powers anymore. She wasn't scared to show just what she was capable of and she saw the beauty in it. And best of all she had finally gotten her sister back. They had repaired their seemingly irreparable relationship and now it was like they had never been separated in the first place.
But there was still that nagging feeling. That small but powerful "what if". What if she had never shut Anna out during the party? What if she had stayed with her? Talked with her instead of continuing to shut her out and refusing to let Anna even touch her. Would things be different?
This was why she was here. She needed this question answered. Soon Elsa heard the low rumbling sound, the sound of the trolls waking up from their slumber and where there had been rocks under her feet just a moment ago there were now eyes, peering up at the queen in awe. She could hear chatter all around her. Trolls saying different variants of "It's the queen." or "The queen has paid us a visit." or "It's Queen Elsa!"
In the back of this sea of trolls Elsa had noticed they had begun to part, revealing an older troll that looked up at Elsa with curiosity and affection. In an old and tired voice the troll spoke, "Elsa. It's been so long. What brings you here?"
Elsa smiled down at the wise troll and opened her mouth to speak. But her face changed from a smile to a frown, "I'm sorry but I don't know what your name is. I remember being here many years before but I don't think I ever got your name."
The troll smiled and nodded at her misunderstanding, "Please just call me Grand Pabbie. Now...what is it that you need?"
Elsa brought her hands together, fidgeting nervously as she struggled with how to exactly word what she wanted to say, "Well see...I was wondering what-to what extent, I mean, do your powers reach?"
The troll eyed her curiously, "What do you mean?"
The sheer ridiculousness of Elsa's request had finally hit her and she was now at a loss for words, "Well, uh...I mean you were able to erase, that is, change Anna's memories, I just wanted to know if you could maybe do more than that?"
Grand Pabbie looked at her with that tired smile of his and spoke once more, "Elsa, I'm sorry but you have to be more specific. What do you wish of us?"
This was going to be hard to explain and it was already hard for Elsa to even ask but she just had to do it. She needed to know for sure. With a heavy sigh she straightened up her posture and spoke in a confident and lightly assertive tone, "I'd like to know if you can send someone back in time."
The trolls stared up at her not in confusion but in genuine curiosity. Even Grand Pabbie, whose tired eyes were looking at her as if he was intrigued with her question, "Why do you ask, Elsa?"
"I've been thinking-" Elsa started, "about my coronation last year. About how I had completely dismissed Anna at the party, refused to even let her touch me, and how that had caused everything else to happen. And although it all worked out in the end I've just always wondered...what if I had never pushed Anna away like that? Would things have gotten better much more quickly than they did?"
He took one of Elsa's hands without protest and replied, "Well that is a very big 'What if' and I can see how that thought may affect you-"
"Grand Pabbie, please." Elsa interrupted, "Can you do it?"
He was at first taken aback by Elsa's interruption but shrugged it off. He sighed, "Yes...I can. But I must warn you, are you sure you want to do this? There will be no turning back."
This was a very tough decision for Elsa. Was her curiosity so rampart that she would say yes to seemingly changing the future. And for good or bad? She would never know until she was back. This was a big risk that she was taking. Did she really want to know what would happen if she tampered with time like this? Would it be worth it?
Yes. Yes it would.
Without a shred of doubt or uncertainty in her voice Elsa spoke, "Yes. I need to know."
He released her hand and nodded. He turned around and conjured a glowing blue light practically out of thin air, it hovered over the ground and the light itself was almost blinding. Elsa shielded her eyes away from the glare.
"I almost forgot to mention." Grand Pabbie spoke, "This portal will only remain open for ten minutes. You must make sure you are back through this portal before then or else you will be stuck in the past forever."
"I understand. Don't worry I'll be back before then." Elsa made her way closer and closer before being interrupted by a stony hand pulling her back slightly. She turned to see Grand Pabbie looking at her still slightly worried but mostly with so much faith in trust in her, "Good luck, Elsa."
She returned the smile, "Thank you." And with that Elsa continued onward, the light becoming much brighter every step she took until it completely engulfed her and all she could see was white. Soon though the light faded and she found herself in a familiar room. A very familiar room.
The window that overlooked her entire kingdom, the large wooden bookcase and of course the large portrait of her father. This was her room and yet it wasn't at the same time. She felt like a stranger and yet so very welcome. It baffled her.
"Who are you?"
A voice, frightened and confused, called out to Elsa and she looked to see...herself. The sight was absolutely astonishing and surreal and fascinating all in one. Like looking in a mirror that just wouldn't obey you. Elsa had taken to wearing the same dress she had worn that day as well, minus obviously the purple cape and her gloves. And instead of wearing her hair in a bun she wore it in that large braid that hung over her shoulder. Her face was contorted into this look of fear at someone breaking into her room and downright shock at the appearance of the woman who was in her room.
Elsa realized she had been staring this whole time not saying anything. She also noticed that her mouth had been open as if she was going to say something but nothing had come out. What was she supposed to say in this situation? What was the proper way to introduce yourself to...well...yourself? She didn't have much time to dwell on that though, for she only had ten minutes and she probably spent a couple of those staring at herself.
With a sigh, Elsa launched into a long-winded speech that would hopefully explain everything, "Look I know this looks utterly baffling and you have every right to be confused but I don't have much time so I need you to please listen. Trust me when I say that...I'm you. From the future. I know that doesn't make any sense but you and I can both conjure ice out of thin air so this doesn't seem that far-fetched. I asked the trolls to send me back here...so I can warn you."
Luckily her other self was willing to listen and she even saw a flash of understanding show on her face when she mentioned their shared gift. "W-warn me?"
"Yes, warn you." Elsa continued, "During the party Anna will obviously be standing next to you and I'm warning you right now...please don't shut her out. No matter what you do, don't let her get away from you. Stay with her. And please, for the both of us, if she tries to reach out for you don't pull away!"
Any doubt and confusion in the other Elsa's mind was now gone, replaced by feelings of guilt and remorse, there was even a shred of hopelessness in the way she looked down and away from Elsa, pulling her arms close to her stomach.. "I'm sorry." she said weakly, "but I can't."
Elsa wanted to tell her to stop being so damn stubborn but she couldn't. Because she knew what she was feeling. That feeling of dread, of seeing Anna for the first time in forever and worrying just how she would act, that fear of her powers surfacing at any time. So instead of snapping at her she walked towards the frightened woman. With a comforting smile Elsa reached out to touch an arm wrapped around her stomach. Surprisingly, the other Elsa obliged and didn't flinch away.
"Look, I know that that seems like a very daunting task but trust me when I tell you everything will be fine if you take my words to heart. Please don't shut her out, Elsa."
Elsa looked up at the call of her name and that's when she knew that she had her full attention.
"Do it for the both of us. Because if you don't..." Elsa sighed, "if you don't then it will cause nothing but pain and suffering for the both of you."
She didn't mean to make it sound like a threat but the way she had worded that last sentence made it seem like it was. The other Elsa almost recoiled in fear at those words.
Elsa looked at her apologetically, "I'm sorry, that wasn't supposed to sound like a threat. It was just...a warning. This is all a warning. If you continue to shut Anna out like this, keep her at bay for too long, then it will cause this chain of events that will end up hurting the both of you. I wish I could go into much better detail but I just don't have time so please...please do this for us."
She'd hoped that she had convinced her enough to at least try, she'd hoped that the other Elsa could see and hear the desperation in her voice because she just needed her to try. She didn't want to put Anna through that whole ordeal again. She didn't want herself to either.
"It's just..." the Elsa in her grasps started, "It's been so long. What if...what if you're wrong? What if she hates me? What if I can't do it?"
The insecurity was baffling, looking at her then and looking at her now it was baffling how much Elsa had actually changed in this past year. Even so, it looked like she'd have to try harder to convince Elsa that everything would be okay.
"Look at me." Elsa asked. The woman in front of her slowly obliged. "You have nothing to be afraid of, Anna will love you. You just need to talk to her and never let her go. And please tell her everything. She will understand, I know she will. You don't have to be afraid anymore Elsa, everything's gonna be okay."
She didn't answer and instead looked away from Elsa, but her face didn't bear a look of indecisiveness or hesitation, this time it looked like she was pondering those words. Really taking them into her consideration. Elsa could tell by the way her eyebrows furrowed and her lips pursed in concentration, maybe she had finally gotten to her.
"Will you do this, Elsa? I promise you that everything will be okay."
She finally looked back up at her, face more determined and confident than before, and nodded.
Elsa smiled and breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you."
A blinding light had emerged inside the room once more that washed over the two Elsa's. Elsa looked back, "I guess it's time for me to go. Elsa..." she turned around to stare at herself once more, "you can do this. I know you can."
She smiled, "I guess I should be thanking you as well. For helping me, for letting me get rid of all that doubt."
"You're welcome." Elsa replied.
She made her way towards the blinding light, covering her eyes with her arm. The situation was out of her hands. Whatever happens next was all up to her other self and she hoped that she would do the right thing.
She kept walking till the light engulfed her once more.